Belarus

Länderinfos

Belarus

1. International Family Mediation

Family mediation, in Belarus, is legally recognised, commonly implemented and encouraged by the State. According to the Act on Mediation N 58-Z (2013), mediation can be provided for resolving family disputes before or during court proceedings.

The mediators shall pass specialised trainings in an accredited training institution, have a mediator certificate and be added to the Ministry of Justice registry of accredited mediators that you can find here (website in Russian).

There is, to our knowledge, no specialised structure for international family mediation in Belarus.

2. International Legal Framework

1) Belarus is a Party to the 1980 Hague Convention.

The 1980 Hague Convention: a multilateral treaty, which provides procedural guidelines on the return of children and their protection in cases of international parental child abduction.

The 1996 Hague Convention: a multilateral treaty, which determines jurisdiction, applicable law, co-operation in respect of parental responsibility and access rights, as well as civil and public measures for the protection or care of children.

TheBelarusian Children’s Fund aims to protect the rights of children by providing them with humanitarian aid, medical services and legal consultations. You can contact the Fund directly here.

Save Babies (Spasenie mladenzev) is a charitable organisation informing young families on child care and raising. Its website offers contact information of help centres providing legal, social, psychological and financial support to families. You can contact them directly here (website in Russian).

SOS Children's Villages in Belarus offer Family Strengthening Programme to protect children who are at risk of losing the care of their family, which includes nutrition, education, health and psychosocial support, improving living conditions, parenting counselling. They work in Borovlyany, Maryina Gorka and Mogilev and you can contact them directly here (website in Russian).

5. Support to Bi-National Couples, Cross-Cultural and Migrant Families

The Belarusian Red Cross Society provides asylum seekers and refugees with humanitarian assistance, counselling on integration, referrals to relevant state authorities as well as assistance with rebuilding family ties with relatives lost in the aftermath of armed conflicts (website in Russian). It has regional branches in Minsk, Vitebsk, Grodno, Gomel, Mogilev and Brest. You can contact their head office directly at:
Karl Marx str. 35,
220030 Minsk, Belarus
Telephone: (+375) 17 3271417
Email: info(at)redcross.by

The Refugee Counselling Service is a non-profit organisation providing free-of-charge legal counselling and social support to refugees and asylum seekers. The Service works in Minsk, Vitebsk, Grodno, Gomel, Mogilev and Brest. You can visit their Facebook page or contact their head office directly at:
Olshevsky str. 74,
220104 Minsk, Belarus
Telephone: (+375) 17 3697062
Hotline: (+375) 44 753-35-72 and (+375) 33 635-21-66
Email: pa.bmmw(at)gmail.com

The info-line on safe travel and stay abroad run by Gender Perspectives operates from 8.00 a.m. to 8.00 p.m. every day and offers information, legal and psychological counselling to Belarusian citizens on employment and study abroad, marriage with a foreigner in particular on administrative migration procedures and cross-border family disputes. It is available at 113 (for fixed telephones) or 7113 (for mobile phones) as well as at (+375) 17 2110251 (for calls abroad). You can also ask for information by sending an email at consultation(at)lastrada.by (website in Russian).

The national hotline for victims of domestic violence 8 801 100 8 801 run by Gender Perspectives provides anonymous social and psychological assistance as well as referring to other specialised state and non-state institutions all over Belarus from 8.00 a.m. to 8.00 p.m. every day. Legal counselling is provided on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

The national free-of-charge hotline for children in crisis providing them psychological support is available 24/7 at 8 801 100 161.

Useful brochures / Documents of reference:

Useful guides for parents concerning mediation practice and child abduction prevention can be found in our Library.